The One and Lonely
by Shekiah Rosay
Summary: Sasuke marries Sakura, planning to rebuild his clan. But shortly after the wedding, Sakura disappears! It's up to Kakashi to find out what's happened and save her by whatever means necessary. KakaSaku, anti-SasuSaku.
1. Congratulations In Order

So welcome to my new story, and the first KakaSaku I've ever posted! (le gasp). It's been a long time coming, friends, because I've read just about ever other KakaSaku fic on this site. So here's something a little new and different. It's written post-canon, and maybe a little AU depending on where the manga is nowadays. I've done a poor job keeping up... **bad Shekiah**. Anyway, enjoy this ficlet. I anticipate it to be around ten parts - we shall see. I don't own Naruto! ;)

* * *

Hatake Kakashi stood silently in the background as the garden party buzzed around him. Elegantly dressed girls shot past every once and awhile, trying not to trip over the silky folds of their kimonos as they raced to embrace the one girl in a white dress: the lady of the hour, Haruno Sakura. Or, as she had just become, _Uchiha_ Sakura.

The whole situation was highly unexpected – on a number of different levels. Like most of the other residents on the village, Kakashi had eventually given up on getting Sasuke back after more than five years missing in action to avenge his clan. But, of course, if anyone could have made the unimaginable happen, it was Naruto. Kakashi hadn't been there when their showdown took place, but from all the stories he had heard, it had been just as dramatic as he might have expected. His two former students had returned to town together in the middle of the night one night, both half-alive, to rejoin their childhood comrades.

The real change had come after Sasuke had been back a few weeks. Once he had recovered from all his battle wounds and stood trial for treason (of which he had been acquitted, much to the chagrin of several village elders) he had taken to restoring his clan's compound. Tirelessly, from sun up to sundown, he scrubbed off the dust and grime of almost a decade of abandonment and patched holes in the walls. Furniture was delivered in a steady stream. The town buzzed with what all of his activity must mean. He was going to try to revive his clan after all. The Uchiha clan could very well return to power. But… who would be his bride?

Naturally, there were plenty of young women vying for the position. Sasuke still had his youth and his looks, and there was also the allure of his wealth. All of the girls from his academy class who had been so smitten with him suddenly reappeared on the scene, all too willing to bring him hot meals and offer to do his laundry.

The ultimate shock was when Sasuke overlooked all of these would-be suitors and got down on one knee in the village square and asked Haruno Sakura to be his bride – and she said _yes._

Kakashi had been stunned to hear the news – perhaps even more than most. Like all the others, he had warily forgiven Sasuke his betrayl, but the idea of him taking one of Konoha's best and brightest for his wife seemed a bit extreme. Sakura was one of the most eligible young ladies in Konoha. Certainly, she had spent most of her adolescence lost in a love for Sasuke that had certainly appeared unrequited, but was he truly her best choice? She could have had practically any man in Konoha… any _loyal _shinobi.

Either way, the engagement was a whirlwind, stirring up all kinds of gossip in cafés and ramen shops. Several of Konoha's other single citizens were put-off by the opportunities they felt themselves to have missed, but mostly everyone was thrilled by the idea of two of the most skilled – and best-looking – young shinobi in the village getting married.

When the day finally came, all of Konoha showed up for the event laden down with gifts and well-wishes for the couple. From the outside looking it, it looked like a perfect match – not even Kakashi could deny that much. It could have been something out of a fairytale. The bride and groom were absolutely comparable in age and skill, and would no doubt have lovely children to top it off.

But the thought gave Kakashi a strange feeling of pain and regret; there was no denying that, either.

Sakura seemed too young to give her life away to someone. She was only eighteen, after all. Kakashi supposed he could have been considered biased because he was in his thirties and still hadn't settled down, but he thought that was a little bit different. He was kind of a special case, at least the way he saw it. Someone could also argue that he was being judgmental of the wedding because he still considered Sakura a child, but that was _definitely _not the case.

The way his chest tightened and his breathing became shallower and more difficult in her presence attested to the fact that he considered her a woman. And a beautiful woman at that.

Maybe it wasn't her age after all. Maybe it was just the union with _Sasuke_ that Kakashi found disagreeable. Certainly the young man was high born and an excellent ninja, but he had always undeniably been the darkest of Kakashi's three genin. There was an aura of menace there. Something about Sasuke implied that he would always have a secret agenda, no matter what he was doing. And no amount of oaths of loyalty could undo five years of treachery – at least in Kakashi's mind.

Sakura's innocent smile was a stark contrast to her new husband's brooding presence, and not necessarily in a good way. How could these two possibly want the same things from a marriage, or even from life?

These were the kinds of thoughts that wandered through the jounin's head as he watched the party of the century unfold before his eyes. He felt oddly detatched, not unlike the time Zabuza had trapped him in a prison of water. Dangerous, potentially catastrophic events were taking place, but Kakashi was powerless to step out and do something about it.

Or maybe he was just overreacting.

"Don't be a wallflower, Kakashi-sensei!" a voice exclaimed, stirring him from his thoughts. Naruto ran up, holding a place overladen with hors d'oeuvres. "This is a great party!"

"I'm not really in a party mood," Kakashi said absently. "Maybe I'll join in later."

"But people are just starting to dance!"

"Then why don't you go bother Hinata?" Kakashi suggested, trying to sound as innocent as possible. "She looks like she needs a partner."

Naruto's face reddened.

"I doubt she'd say yes. And besides, I don't know any good couples dances."

"You don't know what she'll say until you ask. And besides, she may know a dance or two – I've heard the Hyuuga are quite graceful. Let her lead. But don't worry about me. I'm really not too much of a party-person anyway."

Naruto shrugged – but Kakashi could tell his distraction had worked. The young man was already gazing wistfully in Hinata's direction.

"I guess I'll go ask her… thanks, Kakashi-sensei."

"No problem."

Kakashi gave Naruto one of his classic two-finger salutes and watched as the blonde boy disappeared into the crowd again.

Kakashi looked around at all the other guests. It was funny; even after all the years that had passed, the jounin still grouped together in to the teams from their genin days. Ino and Chouji stood together, reading over what people had written in the guest book, while Shikamaru and Temari looked on. Lee was serving some punch to Tenten. Apparently Neji had already walked off – probably to scowl at Naruto, who was already busy stepping on his cousin's feet.

"They grow up fast, don't they?" an older voice asked, approaching from behind Kakashi. Suppressing a sigh, Kakashi nodded.

"They do, Lady Tsunade," he agreed. "They certainly do."

"It's always nice to see two genin from the same team tie the knot," the fifth hokage said. "They've already seen every aspect of one another's personalities, so no unpleasant surprises there. Not to mention, those two always fought so well together…"

"Well, undertaking missions and maintaining a marriage are quite a bit different," Kakashi retorted, surprising himself by speaking his thoughts so brazenly. "But we'll see."

"Indeed we will," Tsunade agreed, raising an eyebrow. "Indeed we will."

The famed medic nin walked off, realizing just as Naruto had that conversing with Kakashi was borderline impossible. But that was nothing new, really. He was always off in his own world for one reason or another.

By the time his third visitor arrived, Kakashi was quite tired of trying to hide his chagrin for the benefit of others. He had a sharp retort all ready to go, but he had to bite his lip when he locked eyes with the girl who had tugged on his shirt.

It was the bride.

Momentarily flustered, Kakashi settled for voicing the first thing that came to mind.

"You look lovely, Sakura," he said, glad his mask was there to hide the fact that he was not smiling. He was actually biting his lip. "Uchiha Sasuke is a lucky man."

"Thank you, Kakashi-sensei," Sakura replied, giving him a genuine smile. "This is truly the happiest day of my life."

Kakashi didn't wince, despite his inclinations.

"I know… I know you've waited for this for a long time," he said. "But in an odd way, it feels like just yesterday that you were just beginning as a genin, making eyes at Sasuke when he wasn't looking."

"We did have some crazy times, didn't we?" Sakura asked, laughing. "Team seven will always have a place in my heart."

"It will in mine was well…" Kakashi said, his voice trailing off. It was then that he came back with one of the most blunt and honest statements he had ever made. "I'll miss you, Sakura."

His companion paused.

"I'm not going anywhere," she said finally, laughing a little. "The Uchiha compound is just on the other side of Konoha. I'm sure we'll see each other all the time."

Kakashi shrugged a little bit, nodding.

"True. Well, just don't be a stranger."

The conversation came to an end soon after that. Sakura could only steal so much time away from her enthusiastic and attentive guests, and fairly soon a mob came to bear her away for the tossing of her bouquet. Kakashi was left to stand against the wall as he had before they spoke, but with a little bit heavier of a heart.


	2. Discovering a Mystery

As it turned out, Kakashi did _not_ see Sakura all the time. In fact, nobody did.

Naturally, there was a honeymoon. Rumor had it that the couple retreated to the Village Hidden in the Clouds, but again, it was just a rumor. And it didn't really matter that much, at least to Kakashi. Either way, Sakura was gone. And she was passing her hours reclining in the arms of another man.

Two weeks passed that way. Giggled exchanges were shared amongst former teammates, wondering how the marriage was going so far and when evidence of the first new Uchiha heirs would surface. Kakashi turned a blind eye and continued about his duties, obstinately pushing thoughts of a certain pink-haired former student from his mind.

Eventually, of course, the couple had to return from Kumogakure. However, the only indication of that was the fact that Sasuke returned to meetings of the village council. Very little seemed to be different. He was no less quiet and enigmatic than ever before. No information about life for the Uchiha family was shared, even in casual banter.

One would have imagined that information would be available from Sakura – and it probably would have been – save for the fact that no one ever _saw_ Sakura.

For anyone else in her position, that wouldn't be so weird. For at least one major reason.

The Uchiha clan was still ridiculously wealthy, by Kakashi's reasoning, and even more so because the entire fortune suddenly rested with the single living heir. There wouldn't really be any reason for the matriarch of the family to do the shopping; she'd have her pick of servants, no doubt.

But this was _Sakura_. She couldn't live without people to boss around and tease. The idea of the young woman becoming a recluse and withdrawing into the confines of her husband's mansion was rather ridiculous.

That being said, the months still passed without a single sign of Sakura.

Naruto was the first – and really the _only_ – one with whom Kakashi discussed Sakura's disappearance. Several months following the wedding, they saw each other at Ichiraku Ramen Bar, where the team used to meet. It seemed more than just ironic that the brokenness of the team would be discussed at a place where they used to spend time together.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto exclaimed upon entering the building.

Kakashi was suddenly glad that he had already finished and had been able to enjoy his dinner at his own pace. However, he wouldn't mind sitting around a few extra minutes and getting an update on the village news from his former student. Kakashi was almost certain that Sakura's name would come up. Though he idea of discussing her made him a little sick to his stomach, he also couldn't deny that it was the reason he stuck around to talk to Naruto at all.

"Hello, Naruto," he said casually. "I'm already finished, but feel free to take a seat."

"Don't mind if I do," Naruto replied, flopping down on the cushion across from his former sensei. "Is the tonkotsu good today?"

"Always," Kakshi replied. "How are you doing?"

"I'm fine, but Sakura's gone!"

The topic had come up even sooner than even Kakashi had feared it would.

"I've noticed," the older man replied evenly. "Heard any rumors?"

"A million," Naruto said through a mouthful of ramen – his usual had been delivered without even having to order. "Some people think she's pregnant, but I think that's dumb. She'd still come outside, even if that were true."

"Probably so," Kakashi replied, his fingernails digging into the palms of his gloves beneath the table, where Naruto couldn't see. "Do you think she left town?"

Naruto snorted.

"Hardly. We'd have all heard about that. Sasuke's secretive, but even he couldn't get away with being _that_ secretive. One of the servants would have spread the news if his wife had walked out on him."

"I don't mean that, necessarily," Kakashi countered. "She could be on a mission."

Naruto shook his head, looking a little surprised.

"She swore off of those when she got married. You didn't hear about that?"

Kakashi couldn't catch himself in time to keep his eyes from widening.

"What?" he demanded, sloshing some of his tea out of the porcelain cup he held. Naruto nodded, clearly somewhat satisfied by Kakashi's reaction to the news.

"Yeah. No more missions, no more training. She promised Sasuke all that. She said that she was going to be a housewife and do what good housewives do – and not put herself in danger anymore."

"Sakura _promised_ all that?" Kakashi demanded, still breathless.

"She did. Not that I think she came up with it on her own, of course. You know Sasuke pressured her about it. He wouldn't want a wife going out and fighting all over the place – he'd want her at home, cooking dinner and giving birth to his heirs."

"Well then why _Sakura_?" Kakashi pointed out. "He could have had anyone. Ino would have done that for him in a heartbeat. Happily, too."

"Beats me," Naruto replied. "Maybe Sakura _did _do it happily."

"There's no way she loved him enough to promise all those things," Kakashi insisted. "You've seen how gifted and passionate she is – _was_ – about her work. Some part of the story is definitely missing."

Naruto shrugged.

"I don't know anything about whether or not it was an issue of love, but she would have promised him _anything_ if it meant finally becoming his wife. You know how long she wanted that."

Kakashi paused.

_Could it be possible that Sasuke really meant that much to Sakura? Enough for her to give up her work, her talent, her everything? Did she really care that much for her former teammate? Could anyone really care that much for anyone else?_

"I know Sakura better than that," Kakashi said, still not willing to compromise – or allow himself to believe that she had been that devoted to Sasuke. "There's another element to this equation that you don't know – maybe nobody knows it. I have somewhere I need to be, Naruto. Enjoy your lunch."

Kakashi didn't have anywhere he needed to be, really. But he did need to be away from Naruto and the conversation they'd been having. There was too much to think about, and none of it was good. Sakura was either an excellent liar or a very different person than he thought she was. Either way, something was very wrong.

_Tsunade._

When the idea finally struck Kakashi, he was almost back to his own apartment. However, that didn't stop him from turning right around and setting out for the Hokage's tower. The other medic nin – and Sakura's mentor – would no doubt have the answers he needed. Some of them, at the very least.

Kakashi tried to use the time it took to walk to the office to figure out how he was going to word everything, but the journey was far too short to make sense of something that jumbled. He supposed all he really needed to know was _where Sakura had been all those months_.

Everything else kind of paled in comparison, after all. And once he knew the answer to that one question, the rest would probably answer itself.

When Kakashi arrived at the Hokage's tower at last, he realized he didn't have time to waste making conversation with Shizune. It seemed silly even to him that after nearly six months he was suddenly so impatient, but he just had this feeling in his gut. Something was wrong. And the answers were right at hand, so that made time of the essence. Bidding Shizune a quick hello – as casual a hello as he could manage, under the circumstances – he took off the steps up to Tsunade's office.

The door was already open when he arrived.

"What's wrong, Kakashi?" Tsunade demanded, standing in front of her desk. "From the way you raced up here, I wondered if we were getting invaded again!"

"Nothing… like… that," Kakashi promised, trying to sound as calm as he could while catching his breath. "It's just… Sakura."

_Crap_.

Needless to say, that was not the way he had intended to present his concerns to the hokage.

"What about her?" Tsunade asked. "She's not hurt, is she?"

"I don't know," Kakashi replied honestly. "I haven't seen her in six months. That's what's wrong. I spoke to Naruto, and he hasn't either. She completely disappeared."

Tsunade raised an eyebrow and turned back around to desk, pouring herself a cup of tea. Evidently, her concern had already dissipated.

"Well, Kakashi, to be quite honest, I don't know if that's any of your business," she said loftily. "Uchiha Sakura is a married woman – she's no longer one of your genin. Whether or not she wants to make public appearances is up to her and her husband."

Kakashi swallowed, nodding slowly.

"But with all do respect, Lady Fifth," he said slowly, "I know Sakura better than that. She's not the type to become some kind of hermit. I want to know where she is and why I haven't seen her since the wedding."

Tsunade's look hardened.

"I suppose it's not a secret, Hatatake Kakashi, so I might as well bring it to your attention that she never left Konoha. I hope that satisfies you."

_Never left Konoha…_

Kakashi couldn't say right off whether or not that reassured him or concerned him all the more. On one hand, she was still close by, but on the other hand, it became evident that she never left her husband's house. That was not a healthy lifestyle, and definitely one that would have turned the stomach of the Sakura Kakashi knew. That was a life for invalids and overprotected children of aristocrats. Definitely not for a vibrant eighteen-year-old girl and promising kunoichi.

"I gave Uchiha Sakura an examination less than a month ago," Tsunade continued.

Kakashi's stomach tightened.

"If you examined her, then she's ill," he blurted out. Tsunade narrowed her eyes.

"A jounin of your caliber should know better than to jump to conclusions like that," she replied coolly. "I'll have you know that Uchiha-san is in good health. The examination was… routine."

It couldn't be coincidence that Tsunade continued to use Sakura's married surname in conversation. The hokage was undoubtedly reminding Kakashi in no uncertain terms that any claim he'd ever had to the girl simply from being her teacher or friend had long since ceased to carry any weight.

"Thank you," Kakashi said, bowing his head. "I suppose that's all I needed to ask you."

He turned, still not making eye contact, and headed back towards the door from whence he had come.

"Kakashi."

There was a pause. Kakshi turned back around and saw Tsunade sitting behind her desk again, her head rested on her fist.

"Be careful," she said finally. "I saw the way you were acting at the wedding, and I see right through your concern now. I'm telling you this not as hokage or as a medic nin, but as a friend. She's a _married woman_. You're treading dangerous waters. See that you don't get pulled under."

Kakashi was biting his lip so hard that he could taste blood.

"Arigato, hokage-sama," he replied after a moment or two. "I'll keep that in mind."


	3. An Unexpected Visitor

Sorry I'm late on the update, friends! I'm trying to do them once a week, but I got a new Macbook and I had to transfer all my files. I'm still working on getting iTunes up and running, but at least I can process documents again... . The next chapter will be a touch longer. I actually tried to get this one a big longer, but it just didn't lend itself. Anyway, thanks for sticking with me, and please enjoy this installment. :)

* * *

Kakashi was far from satisfied by Tsunade's "answers."

The hokage hadn't provided too much information to begin with, and what she had said had been laced with a hesitance and secrecy that only served to make the jounin even more anxious than before. The situation with Sakura was out of hand, no doubt there.

Despite his concern, Kakashi didn't know where to start. He figured that he'd probably start another war if he simply walked into the Uchiha mansion and demanded to see the lady of the house, but to be quite honest, he was beginning to wonder if he cared about something as seemingly petty as being diplomatic. He was actually _worried_ about Sakura.

Worried about Sakura.

Those were words that sounded quite strange. She was the epitome of independent womanhood, fighting all her own battles and many of her friends'. But had she finally found a force powerful enough to defeat her?

Kakashi decided it would be sadly ironic if that force was her own irrational love for Uchiha Sasuke.

So, Kakashi wanted to do something, and he was still working on exactly what it was that he was going to do. However, his questions were surprisingly answered before he'd even decided what drastic measures he planned to take.

Kakashi was slightly bemused to hear the knock at his door in the very middle of the afternoon. The only people who ever visited him did so rather rarely, and it tended to be other jounin. And jounin – particularly those with students – tended to be occupied during the day.

His surprise increased tenfold at least when he saw the person who actually waited at his doorstep. In fact, the glimpse of familiar pink hair that he saw through the peephole shocked him to the extent that he almost dropped his cup of tea.

Without hesitation, he opened the door.

"Hello, Kakashi-sensei," Sakura said pleasantly, a benign smile on her face.

Kakashi still felt as though he was in some kind of bizarre dream or genjustsu, and imagined that he would break out of it at any moment. Sakura hadn't shown her face in Konoha in nearly seven months. It made no sense that after all that time without any contact with him – or anybody, for that matter – she would show up at her former teacher's door.

However, Kakashi knew that it was rude to leave his guest on the porch – even if she was just an illusion.

"Come in," he said, motioning for her to join him at his coffee table. "Sorry the place is such a wreck."

"It's fine," Sakura replied. "It's actually comfortable – hasn't changed at all since the good old days."

Kakashi poured Sakura a cup of tea and returned to where he had been sitting, across the table from where she then sat. It was then that he truly looked at Sakura for the first time. She was still beautiful as ever, and her hair was getting long again. She had it pulled back behind her in a bun – and Kakashi wasn't sure if he liked it. It made her look much older. She wore an expensive-looking silk shirt with the crest of her new family emblazoned on the back. Her eyes had changed as well: they looked tired and a little bit sad, and the dark circles that had formed beneath them only testified further to this.

Needless to say, she did not have the glow of a blushing newlywed.

"So what brings you here today, Uchiha-san?" he asked. She shifted uncomfortably.

"I had hoped we could make small talk for awhile before you got right down to the point," she admitted.

Kakashi shrugged.

"It's not too late for that. Tell me about your new life. How are you and your husband doing?"

Sakura continued to smile, but Kakashi could tell the extent to which her expression lacked luster.

"We have more than we could ever need, and everyone in the household is happy," she said. Kakashi raised an eyebrow.

"Except for you."

"Is it that obvious?" Sakura asked softly.

Kakashi nodded slowly.

"You wouldn't even be here if you were totally in love and had everything you wanted. There would be no reason to come in search of me – in search of your old life. You look exhausted."

He hadn't intended to be so candid with her right off, but as he gained momentum, he also started to worry all the more. This was no time to mince words.

There was a moment of silence before Sakura connected with his gaze and gave him a very meaningful look.

"You're already giving it to me," she said, her voice sounding surer. "You're being honest with me. I knew you would be, even though nobody else is anymore. That's why I had to talk to you. I just need to talk. Sasuke barely even talks to me."

Kakashi paused and shook his head.

"Start from the beginning, Sakura," he said sternly. His former student gulped and nodded slowly, already making it clear that she was going to begin crying very early on in the account.

_Kakashi hadn't seen her like this since she was thirteen – what had made her regress like this? She didn't have any self-confidence at all! Where had all of her progress gone?_


	4. The Something Missing

"The honeymoon was beautiful," Sakura began. "Everything I've ever dreamed of. Sasuke wasn't compassionate, necessarily, but that's just not his way. I knew the man I was marrying, and I didn't have any unrealistic expectations. I suppose I was blinded by the glamour of it all – at least at first. You were at the wedding; you remember. The weeks afterward followed pretty much the same pattern. There were plenty of expensive gifts. I got this shirt, along with five others very much like it. I also got my ears pierced."

Kakashi's stomach turned a little as Sakura pulled back her hair to reveal a silver charm hanging from each lobe. Really, the earrings were only one more indication of how much she had changed. Ino had been trying to talk her into getting her ears pierced for years, but she had said that it wouldn't be practical for a kunoichi.

He guessed a kunoichi who didn't go on missions or learn new justsu could do whatever she wanted with her ears. Sakura interrupted his thoughts with more of her story.

"Things started getting tense when we got home, a month after the wedding," she explained. "I was a little bit restless."

"Well of course," Kakashi interrupted softly. "You hadn't trained in four weeks. That's unheard of – especially for you, Sakura."

Giving him a weak smile, Sakura shook her head.

"I know, I know… But it's not like that anymore. I'm a wife now – not a ninja."

Kakashi paused. So it _was_ true.

"Is that really what you want?" he asked, somewhat hesitantly.

"It's not an issue of 'want,'" Sakura explained. "It was a conscious choice."

"A choice made by whom, exactly?"

"Made by _me_!" his companion insisted indignantly. "It's not like it's a needless rule enforced so that Sasuke has some kind of power over me. There's a very good reason for it. I don't need to put the future Uchiha heirs in danger by taking on reckless missions."

Kakashi caught his breath, his eyes immediately focusing on her seemingly unchanged abdomen.

"You're not… _pregnant_?" he demanded.

There was no response.

Kakashi got up out of his chair, taking a step closer.

"Sakura – "

"I'm not pregnant," she choked out, her head rested in her hand, her eyes covered. "Don't you get it yet? That's the _point_."

It took several minutes for everything to sink in. Kakashi wasn't accustomed to dealing with so much emotion and guesswork. However, when his former student's meaning hit home, it was like a slap to the face.

"Sasuke won't talk to you because you haven't gotten pregnant yet?" he demanded, his expression beneath his mask one of disgust.

"It's not that simple!" Sakura replied forcefully, looking up at him through red and swollen eyes. "It's not just that I'm not pregnant _yet_. It's the fact that I can't _get_ pregnant. I'm dysfunctional, don't you get it? I don't serve the purposes I was intended to do."

Suddenly, everything started falling into place.

The "routine" appointment with Tsunade. The anxiety etched on every line of Sakura's face.

"That's why you locked yourself away for so long," Kakashi said. "You didn't want to face the questions from all the other women – from Ino."

"Not even just that," Sakura replied. "I'm not up to shopping and talking and eating dinners out with people. I'm too anxious to sleep most of the time, so I'm drowsy during the day. I'm literally worried sick. And _don't_ talk to me about Ino."

"I'm sorry," Kakashi said reflexively. Then he paused for a moment. "I really am. And not just about mentioning Ino. I'm sorry about… everything."

"Thanks, but I didn't come here for your sympathy," Sakura sighed. "Like I said earlier, I came here for honesty. And I've gotten that, at least."

Kakashi shrugged.

"I've always been good at the honesty thing. It's gotten me into trouble once or twice. But if it's what you want."

"It's what I _need_."

The two sat in silence for a minute or two. Kakashi was the one to break it, making a statement he knew had to be made, despite the fact that he didn't want to say it.

"You married Sasuke for a reason," he reminded her. "There had to be more to it than just the reestablishment of the Uchiha clan. Didn't you love him?"

Sakura's brow furrowed.

"I think I did. And there was a time when I was sure. But I'm not anymore. You know how obsessed I was when we were children. Then he left, and I began to get over it and grow up a little bit. But when he returned and he wanted me, it was like nothing had changed since we were twelve or thirteen. I had been _chosen_. I'm beginning to wonder if I wasn't just in love with the idea of him loving me."

"But if he _does_ love you," Kakashi insisted, "then that's reason enough to stay with him… right?"

It seemed to Kakashi horribly ironic that he was trying to convince Sakura to _stay with_ her husband, when all he'd wanted since the beginning was for the marriage not to have happened at all. But it wasn't all about him anymore. It was about the happiness of this broken woman sitting before him. What was good for her. It was a question of honor and loyalty – not selfish jealousy and hurt.

Sakura shook her head slowly.

"Sasuke doesn't love," she replied, chuckling humorlessly. "He needs and he desires and he plans, but he doesn't love. He doesn't even stay the night at his own house anymore – he just leaves and goes off somewhere, probably to train. He's been doing that for three months now. He's given up. As soon as he figured out there wouldn't be any pink-haired sharingan babies, he essentially cut me out of his life."

It was then that Kakashi made the realization.

The one that made all the jumbled information Sakura had given him finally make sense. The reason Sasuke had chosen to take Sakura as a wife rather than taking Ino or any of the others. The reason he had so suddenly and unexpectedly proposed right after getting back to Konoha.

"He's just using you," Kakashi whispered.

Sakura looked up, her eyes widening in concern and confusion.

"How is he _using _me?"

"_He just wanted your genes in his descendants_. And why shouldn't he? You're one of the most gifted kunoichi in the Land of Fire. Your healing skills and super-strength, when combined with the sharingan and aptitude for chidori, would be deadly. But it's beginning to sound like that's all any of it was ever about – and that's disgusting."

Kakashi felt a little bit smug about having made the accusation against Sasuke – whom he still resented for both abandoning their team _and_ marrying Sakura – but the look on Sakura's face wiped away his superiority until he felt nothing but pain and shock.

_She hadn't realized it. She had been blind to what he was doing to her. In her sweet, young naivety, she hadn't been able to imagine that one person could _use_ another so selfishly. And now she was more broken than ever._

Kakashi bit his lip, wishing perhaps harder than he had ever wished anything that he could steal the words back.

"I shouldn't have been so blunt…" he whispered.

"No," Sakura replied, shaking her head. Though she seemed collected and accepting of what she had been told, Kakashi didn't miss how her voice sounded unnaturally high. "It's true. It's got to be. And it's something I needed to understand."

Kakashi was determined to atone for his mistake.

"You've got to understand something else, though: it's his own shortcoming, and it doesn't say anything about you as a wife or as a person. I can tell you're doubting yourself, but you shouldn't do that. The problem – it's not about you. It's Sasuke. He's the same insecure, treacherous, self-centered person he always has been… "

"That's not what I'm so upset about," Sakura replied, her voice lowered to a whisper. It's just that… I just… wanted to believe that there was a time when he actually loved me."

Sakura finally dissolved into tears, and Kakashi found himself at her side, sitting on the arm of her chair, before he even realized that he had gotten up again. He eased his arm around her shoulders, and she sobbed in earnest into the green fabric of his jounin vest. Even though he was finally holding her, after all the time he had spent dreaming of that moment, it was sadly empty.

"Maybe he did once," Kakashi murmured, desperate to comfort her. "Neither you nor I can say for sure whether he did or not."

"No. He never did. I saw that emptiness in him even before I agreed to marry him – it's hard to miss. But I went through with it anyway," Sakura choked out. "Some naïve little part of me thought that if I loved him enough, he would come around. And I think he still would, if I could give him the heir he wants so badly. But I just can't!"

Kakashi wanted to say something; to tell her that everything was going to turn out okay. But as much as he hated to admit it, he was completely at a loss. Mostly because of a certain crushing _emptiness_. He felt it within himself and he saw it in her eyes. They were both the unwitting victims of a tempest that was going to destroy everyone in its path.

Of all of the dreams he'd secretly cherished since the wedding of a disheartened Sakura coming to confide in him, he had never imagined how he would react if it actually happened. Random daydreams and thoughts couldn't simulate the feeling of her hot tears soaking through to his chest and the breathy sound she made between sobs.

And, most of all, he had never imagined the pain he would feel in his own heart upon seeing this beautiful, innocent girl so deeply hurt.

"You'll get through this," he whispered, winding the fingers of his free hand through her disheveled hair. "I've seen you face much worse. You defeated Sasori, Sakura, even before you were up to your full potential. You stood behind Naruto for all those years, when all he wanted was to get his lost teammate back. Sakura, you're _stronger_ than this. And besides… you're not alone anymore. We'll get through this. I won't let you face this by yourself – it's too big of a burden for anyone to bear."

Sakura wiped her eyes on her sleeve, and gave Kakashi an expression of bleary-eyed confidence and thankfulness that threatened to made his heart break.

"It means so much… to finally have someone on my side," she whispered.

"Of course," Kakashi replied. "Please come back. Don't try to handle this alone anymore."

"Definitely," Sakura replied. "I wouldn't. I _couldn't_. I'll come back again in a week, to talk to you again and tell you how things are going. Who knows… maybe then you'll actually manage to get a word in about how _your_ life is going."

Giving Kakashi a quick hug, Sakura picked up her purse and headed for the door, sniffling a couple of times before closing it behind her. Despite the weight he felt on his chest, he watched her depart with a certain hopefulness.

_In seven days, she would be back to see him again…_


End file.
